Gen Z are at it again — they’re here to take another thing millennials (and Gen X) hold dear, just because. If you’re someone who’s had to change their hairstyle because Gen Z cancelled side fringes — or had to invest in a new wardrobe because the Zoomers said no to skinny jeans — you’ll understand where we’re coming from here. Gen Z seems on a mission to cancel , change and question pretty much everything we’ve all been doing for years — and the humble thumbs up emoji is next up on the chopping block.
An OG emoji , the thumbs up is often used to signal agreement, particularly when a quick response is warranted — perhaps if a longer one is not needed or if you’re in a rush and just need to convey your thoughts or opinion. In fact, it’s a completely positive way of communicating with friends, family, colleagues and other people. Or at least, it is for many people.
However, Gen Z are calling for an end to the use of this much-loved emoji, branding it as ‘hostile’. In a Reddit post, that has since been deleted, a person shared their dislike of the emoji at work, asking if not liking the thumbs up emoji made them less of an adult. As reported by Indy100 , the Reddit user confessed that they found the emoji ‘unsettling’ as a response and that they preferred to acknowledge posts by team members with a heart instead.
And they weren’t the only one who felt this way, another Reddit post asks if people find the thumbs up emoji to be ‘rude, hostile,.